King David's Sentiments

Walking behind these skipping cousins, arm in arm, 

feelings of joy and gratefulness, hard to describe, flood my heart.

I've been reading in the Old Testament

and noticed that King David had similar feelings, describing them this way, 

"Who am I, O Lord God,

and what is my house that You have brought me this far?" 

1. Chronicles 17:16 

♡♡♡

Only God

 I can't help but look at this as a miracle.

Tiny shoots, perfectly shaped like rosebuds.

New life, and so beautiful!

Nature shows us who God is,

by creating life out of death. 

God's word tells us that, although we will die,

if we believe in Him, we will pass from death to life.

John 5:25

Simple theology, I can believe 

because God has proven His power over death,

not only in nature, but by raising Jesus.

Renowned singer, Andrea Bocelli,

shared in an interview that the reason he believes in God

is because he cannot attribute the miracle of life to chance.

This is what I see when I look at my beautiful sedum springing forth

or remember the joy of holding a newborn baby.

Life is a miracle,  the hand of God.

"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not only in books alone,

but in every leaf in the spring-time." ~ Marting Luther

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

It came upon a midnight clear

That glorious song of old

From angels bending near the earth

To touch their harps of gold

Peace on the earth, good will to men

From heaven's all gracious King

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing

And the hymn we think of is Isaac Watt's 

"Joy to the World" 

which was the first song on my mind this morning. 

We rejoice because God has, as Mary exclaimed

"been mindful of the humble state of his servant ...

He has done great things ...

His mercy extends to those who fear Him

from generation to generation."

God reached down to humanity,

He became Emmanuel, God with us.

"And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

by becoming obedient to death -

even death on a cross!"

This is salvation by faith,

Good news for every generation past,

but especially so for us today in a world that so desperately needs saving.

So ... let every heart prepare Him room.

And heaven and nature sing! 

Merry Christmas! 

 

Reminder

In some ways we have had the summer of our dreams when it comes to sunshine,

however, the drought is beginning to be a big concern.

Our air quality is dangerous, due to smoke from accidentally lit fires.

Yet, I've noticed the birds, carelessly frolicking in the fountain,

bathing, splashing, drinking

and I wonder in awe at their delight.

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, 

they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. 

And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Luke 12:24

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; 

seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Luke 11:9

These words were spoken by Jesus. So simple, yet such a clear challenge to trust Him.

The fountain that satisfies our thirst and wells up to eternal life. 

I am forever grateful. 

Family Easter

We gathered for our Easter celebration on Good Friday. 

It felt a bit of a somber day to celebrate, so I kept decor simple

and we lit candles on the tables. 

Papa talked about the significance of this day and asked the

kids, "Why do they call it Good Friday?"

Apparently the term "Good" as applied here is an Old English expression meaning Holy. 

Holy Friday ... when the sky went dark and the earth shook just before Jesus breathed His last. 

Easter baskets were hidden by the dads ...

you can tell.

I was chasing the kids but didn't get to see all of 

the hiding places or initial responses.

And guess where Koen found his! 

Papa's shop has lots of good places,

including a trash can. 

I struggle with the balance of taking photos and just enjoying the time.

If I had more photos of Paska,

it would be of the kids spreading icing on slices of paska bread

and adding their own sprinkles. 

The recognition on their faces when I told them of this possiblity 

still brings a smile to my face. 

 How thankful we are that the story did not end with Holy Friday,

but that on Sunday we could celebrate our risen Savior,

Lord of life and death.

But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, 

as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.

1 Corinthians 15:20

That I may know Him More

Before I came to know and put my trust in God, there was a tug of war within my soul.  This has been our destiny from the Garden of Eden, when the snake asked Eve, "Did God really say?" Ever since then, good and evil have fought side by side.  So how did I come to trust God? In order to trust Him I need to know that He is good, that He does good and that His desires for me are good.  

How do we know that God is good? The Bible, the book that has stood the test of time and, dare I say our conscience, tell us that He is the source of morality. He made laws for our protection and for our good. However, following our own way,  God's goodness is also evident in His mercy by providing a way for us to come to Him.  The gift of Jesus is the greatest show of His goodness, ultimately the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. This is what we celebrate this weekend.

God made the heavens and the earth and about every thing He made, He said, "it is good." Creation shows us that out of His goodness, He makes good things and He does good. His goodness is shown in a common grace to all mankind.  "For He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45. 

So, if God is good, makes good things and does good things, why is there evil in this world? As strange as it sounds, maybe evil allows us to see goodness. In the Garden, Eve was told by the serpent, "you shall surely not die, but your eyes will be opened and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4,5

Why would God allow evil? Being only human, we are not in a place where we can't see clearly yet, but there are times when we see a glimpse, and what we see is that He can allow allow evil for a greater good. It may just be a bigger miracle that God can bring healing and redemption from brokenness than if we never needing healing at all. Joseph was sold into slavery, and ended up being the one who saved his family in the end. He told his brothers, "what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good".

Never would I have chosen for my mother to have Alzheimer's. But what I learned in the process and how I was encouraged by her faith may not have happened in any other way. It is in the valleys that we  become more willing to depend on the Lord, and learn that His desires for us are for our good - sometimes only seen in the grand picture. 

These are the truths that spur me on in my faith and desire to know God more.  Psalm 119:68 says, "Thou art good and doest good; teach me your statutes."

Run to the Father

Last Sunday I was touched by the music and lyrics

of this song written by Cody Carnes.

I love how the words express that

whatever comes, 

we can keep running to the Father

who loves us more than we can ever understand. 

Such amazing grace.

 I'll post the words of the second verse and chorus.

You saw my condition

Had a plan from the start

Your Son for redemption

The price for my heart

I don't have a context

For that kind of love

I don't understand

I can't comprehend

All I know is I need You

I run to the Father

I fall into grace

I'm done with the hiding

No reason to wait

My heart needs a surgeon

My soul needs a friend

So I'll run to the Father

Again and again

And again and again

Oh, oh

Again and again

And again and again

♡♡♡

When all is Said and Done

I woke up at night and suddenly the word came to me

as to how I feel, it is that I suddenly feel old.

Maybe because as long as I had my mom,

I felt young.

Maybe because I have first hand seen the

impact that she has had

on many who have expressed it now.

It is a sobering thing to wash her last loads of laundry,

bright tops I can still see her in,

 only in my memory, with no lasting charm.

But, the things others have said to me,

the impact she had, 

imprints of how she loved,

cared for, prayed for, welcomed and accepted them -

those are the thoughts filling my mind,

and not just my mind,

but my very being feeling cloaked

with a mantle I've never worn.

So teach me to number my days, Lord. 

Let me remember what will truly matter

when all is said and done. 

 

For 2022

World renowned vocalist, Andrea Bocelli, and his family hosted a podcast in his home called, "The Heart of Christmas" in which he was asked about his faith. What he said was very simple, and yet struck me as a profound way of expressing why he believes in God. 

Andrea shared that "faith begins in a person's life when a person asks, what is the reason for life?" He looks at faith as a crossroads. "If you don't want to have faith in God, then you must necessarily have faith in another god called 'by chance'. The second god was one I never liked."  He goes on to give an example of someone standing before Michelangelo's pieta and asking, who made this? Being told who it was, he says, "I don't believe it ... I have never seen this artist." This person prefers to believe that it just happened, maybe from the way the rain fell on it. Andrea goes on to say that life is such a miracle that he cannot attribute it to chance.  Therefore he believes in God.

As we enter a New Year filled with apprehension, unable to make specific plans, I believe that many are asking, what does all of this  mean? Where are things headed?  Do we want to think that we are left to chance or that God has a given us an opportunity to trust Him. 

I believe that we can have peace, knowing that we are not left to chance, but that God desires for us to trust that He is good and that good will win. There will come a day when we will see clearly the answers to the 'why questions' we have. For now, all we need to know is that He is with us and for us. Placing our life is in His hands is the safest place to be. 

I will say about the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Psalm 91:2

With love and prayers, wishing you (those beautiful dots on my visitor map) a very happy New Year! 

The Candle of Hope

In the midst of, not only a pandemic, we have flooding throughout the province,

with national news-worthy updates for weeks now. 

Every day is a new day to see what will change. 

At the moment we are waiting on what the third atmospheric river will do

in regard to evacuations, while the army is busy building sandbag barricades.

Samaritan's Purse has taken up residence on our church parking lot,

not to distribute shoe boxes, but to go into areas and homes that need cleaning up.

They are the professionals, and if anyone wishes to help, 

they can do so, within a team that knows how to do it safely. 

It's heartbreaking to think of families, sometimes several generations,

having worked their farms and brought up their children,

to see it all wash away ... their memories, 

 their hopes and their dreams for their future.

We can all only imagine the loss ... and this is what motivates

our communities to help where we can.

Somehow in all of this, it seems rather fitting 

that we just celebrated 

the First Advent, symbolizing Hope.

The first candle that is lit is also sometimes called the Prophecy Candle,

to remember the prophets who foretold of a coming Messiah. 

It represents the waiting and expectation of salvation.

Hope was given to those who recognized Jesus,

who said, "I am the Light of the world, 

whoever follows me will not walk in darkness 

but will have the light of life."

 

We know the rest of the story,

of how salvation came in an unexpected way.

He died a criminal's death,

and came back to life ...

the Author of life here and forever.

The Bible tells us that all creation has been groaning

to be liberated from the bondage of decay

in the same way that we as believers wait in hope for our 

adoption and redemption.

(paraphrased from Romans 8: 19-23)

We not only have hope that tomorrow the sun will come out again,

but we also have hope that there is meaning beyond this life.

This is the precious gift I wish for all. 

❤❤❤

From the Mouths of Babes

 

 

This weekend we celebrated my H's birthday - which I'll post pictures of yet  - but for now I want to remember sweet Jade's words of encouragement and affirmation that she wrote out of her own accord. She came to me in the kitchen with a tiny notebook and quietly asked me if she could read her note when Papa opens his presents. 

She got a little shy - or eager - not sure which it was -

and decided to read it to him before the rest of the family arrived.

However, once everyone shared their cards with him, she stood up and read it again!

Truly something that burned in her heart to share.

So just in case you need this today ...

God loves you!

No matter what, He cares about you.

He doesn't forget you.

He loves you!

❤ Jade ❤

Tribute to my Mom

 A gift more precious than gold. 

Easter Joy

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.1 Peter 1:3

Year after year, I'm amazed at the miracle of life as I observe the first signs of buds appearing and then, maybe a week or so later the lime green hue creating a natural arbor, as leaves begin to open over the path I walk. It is an amazing sight to see bare trees and straggly, lifeless bushes planted in a mulch of decaying leaves come to life again. I marvel at the birds flitting about and the ducks pairing off, all creating their little nests for life to go on. 

And if seeing is not enough, in God's written Word I read,

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over it. Genesis 1:1

We know what happened next. God created out of nothing. He spoke and it came to be. That's the kind of God we have. What's more, not only did and does He reveal His power in nature, He showed His love by sending His Son to take the penalty of death for us. And from the dead, He raised Him up! 

Just like He will raise up all who believe in Him. The One who is able to make something out of nothing. The One who makes life out of death because He is the author of life. In Him we have everlasting hope. Isn't that just the best news to celebrate on this Easter Sunday?

"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, 

but in every leaf in the spring-time."    ~ Martin Luther

 

A Year Later

Last year at the end of February

life was busy with packing up our old home and buidling a new one,

 so we decided to connect via a random midweek date with the local grands.

My H and I each picked up one family of kids and

met at A&W for burgers and fries. 

My words at the end of my February 26th post read,

"It brings tears to my eyes 

to realize how quickly these days go by and how

so much about this post will change in no time.

It's a good time to appreciate what's normal today."

To say it again, I had no idea how things would transpire,

this being said before any Covid restrictions.

It was two weeks later when life, as we knew it, changed.

Springtime was awkward, to say the least,

Summer time, better with outdoor visits and

in October we were ever so grateful 

to have the whole family around the Thanksgiving table

before our Indonesia family left. 

After long winter isolation practices, we finally had these eight all together again.

The way it progressed still makes me smile,

as it became evident that no one wanted to miss out. 

We enjoyed hot dogs, chips, veggies and s'mores around the fire pit

and from the littlest to the biggest,

each one was delighted for a the sense of normalcy and being able to be together.

I'll finish this one off with a comment from Jack to his dad,

"We had so much fun, I can't even tell you what we all did!" 

Easy entertainment when it's so appreciated. 

My wish is that you also feel the hope of Spring

and the return to normal visits. 

The message we listened to last Sunday came from Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

which talks about "mourning being better than feasting."

A first look at these verses simply does not make sense,

but in talking about it, we had to admit that hard times 

truly do make us think about what is important,

while happy times can make us forget and take a lot for granted. 

Even a sad face can be good for the heart if it

causes us to order our priorities.

Psalm 90:12 is a prayer to

"Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

💛💛💛

 

For the New Year

Look at the birds of the air; 

they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, 

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not much more valuable than they?

 Matthew 6:25,26

The Front Door

One thing that stands out in our new home is the front door,

as to the many who enter, even now.

Not only the ones who can just take their bike

or walk to Papa and Mimi's now ...

but the ones who are missing the fellowship of meeting at church. 

For this reason our front door has become a church door.

 

The powder room prepared to be user friendly - for such a time as this.

It truly is a season none of us would have thought could ever become reality. 

But here we are.

I love seeing the joyful smiles of our Care Group joining us every other Sunday.

It's always a reminder of how we are made for community

and encouraged by coming together.

There is joy in the little things and thankfulness in the bigger things ...

such as technology and people who are willing 

to take the time to bring church into our homes.

Songwriters, Christopher Joel Brown, Steven Furtick,

Brandon Lake and Tiffany Hammer

have expressed their sentiments in a beautiful way,

Lord, there's nothing, nothing better than You ...

'Cause the God of the mountain is the God of the valley.
There's not a place your mercy and grace
won't find me again ...

You turn mourning to dancing,

You give beauty for ashes.

Your turn shame into glory.

You're the only one who can.

These are words of a future and a hope,

which we can all use at this time.

So as much as we can, let us meet to encourage one another.

Let us open the door of our heart,

to the only One who is able.

P.S. I'm breaking my guide as to how I write, usually more diary-style or written for someone, rather  than interaction style, but I thought I'd interject here. If you do not have a church home to log into, here is an invitation https://northview.org/livestream-2/

A time to Refrain from Embracing

I read the note Kristal left in the vehicle for our Indonesia family ...

it included instructions about what mandatory isolation would mean for them ...

and for all of us.

Her note ended with, "this is crazy I'm writing this. 

I would never have imagined we would be welcoming you home ...

to greet you with a letter and telling you to stay away from everyone!!"

 In the meantime, we have all lived isolated from each other and

last weekend, when I could not stand it any longer  (to not have everyone see each other)

our kids set us up for a zoom meeting.

 It was so good to see everyone on one page,

even if not in the same room.

 This family has been not only isolated,

but uprooted and surprised by how life has changed here. 

We live with so much unknown 

yet we can know that God has a reason for allowing this.

During this time to not embrace,

I find myself embracing with my eyes,

loving the smiles that mean more than ever.

It's a time to realize that nothing can 

stop us from showing love

and that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

I'll end with this winning smile ...

my mom, still finding a reason to do just so. 

COVID 19

We all watched the numbers of affected people rise,

never thinking it could eventually impact our perfect day to day life. 

Who could have imagined

family trips cancelled, for many just hours before leaving,

indefinite closures of schools, libraries and public spaces,

graduations and weddings on hold,

restaurants with chairs on tables,

churches going digital,

bare grocery shelves,

people working from home,

no more traffic on the streets.

And yet ...

not even a smidge of a taste of every day life for many.

Those who have no place to call home. 

those who could never even dream of a trip,

who have no access to schooling, let alone a library.

Those whose government regulates what kind of church can be had.

Those who do not know where their next meal will come from.

As it's easy to fear what the future holds,

imagining this virus spreading in secret places,

let us remember our many blessings

and how we can spread kindness ...

kindness in small actions that can grow into sheltering trees.

During this time of unknowns, I've been blessed by 

extra smiles and encouraging words,

kind fellow shoppers, 

thoughtful business owners,

an eagerness to make things work,

a church that reaches into our living rooms,

a feeling that we're all in this together ...

and mostly knowing that Jesus is too,

and when He speaks,

the winds and waves obey. 

There is no need to fear.

House Blessing

This afternoon we hosted an informal open house for family and friends. 

It was a cold, wet, snowy/rainy day

but still, there were those who ventured out of their cozy homes

to take a walk through this house in progress.

It was the first of, hopefully, many times that these

cousins will be walking through this front door.

Our own siblings ...

and friends came to write well wishes and verses on the walls.

I cannot even express how this felt,

what a gift they gave to us!

These verses I found where our headboard will be.

This one on the posts just off the entrance,

about the center of the house.

There are many more ... 

The kids made their own memories

all over the house ...

verses

art ... scribbles

I think they claimed their territory in various ways ...

on posts, on walls, on steps ...

not forgetting the ones who could not be there.

After everyone left, my H and I went through the house with

a lamp and the flashlights on our phones,

reading these blessings that will always be tucked 

into the walls of this house ...

feeling like it got a great big hug.

In the meantime, wishes and verses from those who could not come

were still coming to my inbox tonight.

Please feel free to add ...

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds ...

Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 11:18-20